Doppler ultrasound assessment of the ductus venosus in the normal fetus between 20 and 40 weeks gestation in the Pakistani population

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the role of the ductus venosus (DV) in normal fetuses of pregnant women in Pakistan for comparison with previous international studies. Our study was performed at the Afro-Asian Institute of Medical Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. Data were collected between 15 June 2007 and 15 June 2008. The purpose of the study was to determine the role of Doppler evaluation of the DV in normal pregnant women of 20–40 weeks gestation, in a Pakistani population. The equipment included a Toshiba Xario (Toshiba Medical Systems, Tokyo, Japan) and GE-Logiq-5P (GE Healthcare, Wisconsin, USA) scanner. Out of 106 patients, 100 were successfully scanned. Peak systolic velocity, pulsatility index and S/A (peak velocity S wave/peak velocity A wave) ratio were calculated. Our study showed that peak systolic velocities in the DV increased as pregnancy progressed. There was a slight decrease in S/A ratio with advancing pregnancy. This indicates that the fetal heart has a patent aortic valve, therefore reducing the chances of aortic regurgitation.